outspoken A Discipleship Study On understanding who you are in Christ and how to share your story of salvation with others

outspoken A Discipleship Study On understanding who you are in Christ and how to share your story of salvation with others

Introduction to this study: Outspoken The purpose of this study is to help students understand their salvation and how to share the Good News with others. During this study, they should evaluate why they believe what they believe as well as learn where to find supporting scripture in the Bible. This study covers three methods to explaining the concept of salvation through Christ - in other words, how to tell God s story. At the conclusion of this study, students are encouraged to share their personal stories of faith with others such as their peers, friends and family. Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.' '' Verses for Reference (For use throughout this study) Romans 3:23-25 Romans 6:23 Romans 10:9-10 Ephesians 2:8-9 1 John 5:11-13 Romans 8:35-39 John 3:16-18 John 3:36 John 4:13-15 John 1:12 Romans 8:15 Galatians 4:6-7 Ephesians 1:5-6 John 1:1-3 Salvation is given by Grace alone, not by works of man. We are given eternal life through Christ Jesus, which can never be taken away. We are all children of God. God sends his Holy Spirit into us and is our Father. Jesus and God are one and have been together from the beginning.

The Big Point Object Lesson Session I: Romans Road Romans Road to Salvation The Romans Road to Salvation is a way of understanding and explaining the Good News of salvation using verses from the Book of Romans. It is a simple yet powerful method of explaining why we need salvation, how God provided salvation, how we can receive it, and what the results of salvation are. We are all sinners deserving spiritual death (punishment), but Jesus offers us a way out! What Mistake? The purpose of this object lesson is to demonstrate how people react to sin in their lives. Write a misspelled word on a whiteboard or paper that the students will recognize as being spelled incorrectly (you may even want to write a complete sentence while misspelling a single word). Begin talking about a subject and allow time for the students to spot the misspelled word. When someone does notice it, first pretend that you just don t see what they re talking about. Next argue that it is the correct spelling; have someone look it up in a dictionary. After discovering that it is spelled wrong, then tell them that s just the way you want to spell it. Let them argue their point. Next agree that it is spelled wrong, but just cover it up with a piece of paper or your hand. Finally ask them what they would have you do about it. Hopefully they ll say, Erase it and write it correctly! Explain that these are the same ways people treat sin in their lives: First - we pretend we don t see it. Second - we argue that it s right. Third - we decide we don t care what the rules say; we re going to do it our way anyway. Fourth - we agree it s wrong, but just try to cover it up. God, however, wants to erase our mistakes for us. First we must see that sin is wrong, agree with God that it s wrong, turn away from it to make it right, and ask God to forgive us or erase it.

Key Scripture Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We were all born with sin in our hearts. Romans 6:23a...The wages of sin is death... Spiritual death is our punishment for sin. Romans 6:23b...But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. God offers us eternal life as a gift through Christ, it cannot be earned. Romans 10:9,10...If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. You can receive God s gift of eternal life by accepting Him into your heart, confessing your sin, and believing Christ died upon the cross and was risen again for your sins. Additional Verses Romans 3:10 Romans 5:1 Romans 5:8 Romans 8:1 Romans 8:38-39 Romans 10:13 John 3:16-18, 14:6 Acts 4:12, 16:30-31 1 Corinthians 4:3-4 1 Timothy 2:5 These verses tell us more about our slavery to sin and God s gift of eternal life through Christ. We understand that no one is without sin. He paid the ransom for our sins by dying upon the cross, giving us eternal life with God when we accept Him into our hearts. Discussion Ask the students what they think sin is. Does being a good person mean you are sinless? Do sinners include you and me? What is a wage? Before Christ, how did people pay for their sin? Why was that ultimately not good enough? Who wrote the book of Romans? Who was the intended audience? What was the background surrounding this letter? What is eternal life? How does the Roman s Road explain salvation to someone? How can you use this method of explaining salvation?

Session II: Bridge to Salvation The Bridge to Salvation Romans 3:23 tells us that sin separates us from eternal life with God. We cannot cross over from our sinful lives to eternal life on our own. No amount of good deeds, good morals, or religious practices can pay the price for our sins - only Jesus Christ can bridge the gap between our imperfect, sinful lives and God s perfect and Holy love. The Big Point Our sin separates us from God, but Jesus allows us to enjoy a relationship with God. Object Lesson The Biggest Leap The purpose of this object lesson is to show students the real-life application of Jesus death on the cross. Find a large room or area with a large open space. Line the students against one wall or side. Tell them they have to try to get across to the other side without touching the middle of the room, as though it were a large chasm filled with lava. Let the students try to jump across and attempt other ways to cross until their efforts become useless. Once they are done, set up several chairs (in the shape of a cross) that become a bridge for students to cross the room without touching the middle of the room. As they cross, explain that this is what Christ s death on the cross did for us. His death fixed a bridge from Heaven to earth and gives us direct access to God. Without Christ our attempts are hopeless, just as the students attempts to cross the room without a bridge.

Key Scripture 5 2 1 4 3 1 2 3 4 5 Romans 3:23 - God is Holy and perfect. His love and judgement is pure and complete. Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23, Hebrews 9:27 - Man does not measure up to God s Character. God is Holy- man is a sinner; God is Eternal- man dies; God is Judge- man is under the judgment of God. Romans 5:8, 1 Timothy 2:5 - God demonstrated His love by sending His Son to die on the cross for our sins. Christ is the mediator between God and man. John 1:12, Romans 10:13 - In order to receive the benefit of God s solution everyone must receive Christ and believe in Him. Everyone must pray to the Lord and seek His salvation. John 5:24 - When you hear the message and believe in Christ (entrust yourself to), God promises eternal life through a relationship with Christ Discussion Ask the students who they think the most sinless person in the world right now is (ex: Mother Theresa). Do you think they are good enough to get to Heaven without Jesus? Is it possible to live a life without sin and not need Jesus? Ask each student to think of someone they are very close to and love very much. Then ask them to imagine being permanently separated (perhaps in separate parts of the world) from the one that they love. What would this feel like? What would they do to get that person back? What did God do to bring us back to a relationship with him?

Do and Done Session III: Do and Done There are two religious philosophies: do and done. The first, you have to do something to get salvation. The second, everything is done for you, all you have to do is accept the gift. Where does Christianity fit in? The Big Point Salvation is a gift we have to choose to receive, not something we can earn through good deeds. Object Lesson All Tied Up The purpose of this object lesson is to illustrate that aside from accepting God s gift, there is nothing we can do to set ourselves free of sin and it s consequences. Select two volunteers to stand up in front of everyone. Take two ropes and tie one end of each rope around one wrist of each volunteer. The same is done with the second wrist, but before tying, the ropes are linked together. Challenged the two volunteers to separate without removing the ropes. Allow them to try extensive manipulating, stepping through the loops and climbing over each other. (If the volunteers know the secret and do escape without aid, congratulate them and continue with the application). Explain that the Bible teaches we are all sinners - it comes natural to do the wrong thing. Even though we may want to do right, we eventually mess up. Although we can try to remove the sin from our lives and break free from our bondage, ultimately the problem lies with our own nature. Only Jesus can set us free and help us to live the right life. However, we can only receive this help by accepting God s gift, not by racking up good deeds and being good. Our efforts alone cannot free us, we need Jesus to set us free. To separate the two volunteers, take the middle of one rope up through the loop that is around the other person s wrist. Make sure the rope you are pulling up is on the front side of the wrist (facing the palm). Pull enough rope through the loop to go over the hand and then pull it out on the back side of the hand.

Key Scripture Ephesians 2:8-9 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works, so that no one can boast. We have absolutely no power to save ourselves from our punishment. Only Jesus has this power, and our salvation is a gift, not a right or something earned! 2 Timothy 1:9...Who has saved us and called us to a holy life not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time... Jesus was a gift of forgiveness and grace to us from God, only given by His great love for us. There s just one catch- we can only get this gift from Jesus! Romans 5:6-8 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. God loves us so much that he sent Jesus to die for us, even though we are ungodly - this shows his incredible grace and generosity. We are undeserving, but Jesus died for us anyway. Discussion Have you ever been given a gift you didn t feel you deserved? Have you ever given a gift or been generous or forgiving to someone who didn t deserve it? Discuss what other beliefs follow - what do you have to do to earn an eternal, happy life? What would it mean if your salvation was based on your works (good deeds and efforts)? Would this mean that your motivations are wrong, and your heart is in the wrong place? Is it even possible to do enough good deeds to erase all of our sins? Can we ever be as sinless as Jesus? Why not? What scripture can we find to explain this? What does it mean to you personally to be given a gift no one deserves?

Session IV: Share Your Testimony What s Your Story? In 100 words or less, write down your story. What were you like before Christ? What was the changing event? How has your life been changed since deciding to believe in Christ? The Big Point Every one of us has a valuable story to tell that we can share with peers, friends and family. Sharing our story, or testimony, is easy! Object Lesson Power Up The purpose of this object lesson is to give the students an easy method to springboard into conversation with people about their faith and the gospel. At this time, distribute the Gospel Bracelets to students along with a Story Card. Explain that each colored bead explains a part of God s story of salvation for us: Black - represents our sin, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Romans 3:23 Red - is for the blood of Jesus shed upon the cross, for the wages of sin is death, Romans 6:23 White - represents our forgiveness, for when we believe in our hearts and confess with our tongue we are given salvation, Romans 10:9 Blue - is the gift of the Holy Spirit sent from God to us, John 14:26 Green - is our promise of eternal life, for whoever believes in Jesus will have eternal life, John 3:16 Yellow - reminds us of our gift of grace as Jesus reigns in our life, Romans 5:17 When someone sees the bracelet and asks what it is, they can easily (and quickly!) explain it s meaning and share their story. The Story Card tells the meaning of each bead and gives them space to write their 100-Word story to carry with them. If possible, distribute and extra bracelet and card to each student and encourage them to give one to a friend as they share their story.

Key Scripture 2 Timothy 1:8-9 So never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord. And don t be ashamed of me, either, even though I m in prison for him. With the strength God gives you, be ready to suffer with me for the sake of the Good News. For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time to show us his grace through Christ Jesus. We shouldn t be ashamed to tell other people about God or embarrassed when people don t accept Jesus when we share our testimony. We ve been given such an incredible gift of kindness we need to share it with others, and God will be with us as we do. Matthew 24:14 And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come. Before the end of the world, we have to tell people all over the world about Jesus and the salvation he brings. Matthew 28:19-20 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations... Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age. We need to tell the whole world about Jesus. He will be with us and help us as we share the Good News. Discussion Why is sharing your personal story with someone important? Can you find examples in the Bible where someone shared their personal encounter with Jesus? How did that affect the people around them? Sharing your faith with someone can be intimidating. Why are some people afraid to talk about their faith? Have you ever gotten nervous or scared to talk to someone about God? Why do we feel this way? How do we overcome those fears? Have you ever shared your story with someone? How did you do it? What are some other simple ways you can share or show who you are (a follower of Christ) with people without telling the whole Gospel? How does doing these things prepare you to share the Gospel? (This is a good opportunity for leaders to share their personal stories and examples of when and how they shared their story with a friend).

It is for me He died, It is for Him I live.